Heather
by GracieStrattyn
Summary: Heather DeLani was raised into hunting and always stood out amongst the other hunters. She and her best friend, A.J. had been wandering across America for a long time now and they settled into a routine of hunting, resting, and repeating the cycle all over again. It was inevitable that their lives would someday collide with the lives of the Winchesters.
1. Chapter One

Heather DeLani made her way down the staircase of the abandoned prison. She was surprised some other hunter hadn't investigated this one yet. Serial killer, Daniel Jacobson, was murdered by officers during a prison riot decades ago. His ghost had been haunting the prison ever since and the prison was eventually condemned. Over the years, many curious teenagers wandered into the building and died because of him. She had already done the research and knew for a fact that the bones were buried under the floorboards in one of the rooms in the basement, but she had yet to find it. With a flashlight in one hand and a loaded gun in the other, she continued to quietly make her way down the steps, hoping this would actually be an easy job for once.

Not too far away, Dean Winchester was looking through a cell. He had been working the same case, alone for once. He and Sam had an argument about how Sam didn't feel like joining him on this trip. Why did he want to stay behind reading old books when he could be out here actually doing something? Dean tried not to let him bother him, but he wasn't used to not having Sam there to back him up. It reminded him of when Sam went off to college. Despite how much he hated to admit it, he missed his brother's company.

Kneeling down to the ground, Dean looked at the dried blood on the corner of a cot. Now he just needed to find the bones, which meant research. It's too bad Sam didn't want to come along. "Bitch," he muttered to himself.

By that time, Heather had made her way down the steps and into the hallway. She looked into the room, seeing a figure. Instinctively, she raised her gun, but quickly lowered it when she realized it was just some guy hunched over. She could only see the back of his short hair. Maybe he was just a homeless man who needed a place to sleep for the night and didn't mean her any harm at all. Nevertheless, she kept alert and didn't relax.

"It's not nice to call people that," she said as she shown her light into the room. "Who the hell are you? No one is allowed here. It's dangerous."

Dean reeled and stood up, his gun aimed straight at her. "I could say the same to you," he commented slyly, his eyes narrowing as he watched her. She was pretty, but definitely not smoking hot. She had the pudgy face you would expect from a child rather than a grown woman and large brown eyes that seemed too innocent for the weapon she held so tightly. Her dark hair was tied up in a bun and she had long bangs that framed her chubby cheeks.

"Why are you packin` heat like that?" he asked, looking to her gun, which she continued to hold unwaveringly.

"I'm the night guard," she quickly lied. "Put your gun down, sir. You're on private property."

Dean wasn't buying that. "Lemme see your I.D.," he said with a smirk, his eyes watching her carefully.

Damn it, the one time she hadn't brought her fake I.D. with her. She grasped at straws, but couldn't come up with another lie. This guy seemed smart enough that he wouldn't believe another one anyway. Which was odd. Whenever she met an attractive guy, they usually weren't too bright. "Okay, fine. I'm not a guard," she said, lowering her gun slightly, "but you still shouldn't be here. It really is dangerous and I do have clearance to be here." A small, plausible lie wouldn't hurt. Would it? "So, why don't you get out of here before you get hurt?"

Dean knew it and he grinned victoriously. "The same could be said for you. Go home and paint your nails," he teased lowering his gun.

Heather had half a mind to shoot him just for that comment alone. "Fine. Go ahead. If you get into any trouble here, maybe then you'll regret not staying home yourself. But right now, I have some bones to burn and that definitely takes priority over a misogynistic jerk. See ya." She turned around and headed out into the hall. She probably shouldn't have made that comment about burning the bones, but it's not like he would have understood what she meant by that anyway.

Dean paused. Burn the bones?

"Wait, wait, wait," he said, leaving the cell and trotting up in front of her. She didn't have very long legs, which made it easy for him to catch up. "You`re a hunter?" He frowned. She certainly did not look like a hunter. Hell, she looked like she could barely hold that gun, never mind shoot it. "You`re hunting Jacobson?"

Heather crossed her arms, still holding her gun and flashlight. "Yeah..." she slowly answered.

Raising his eyebrows he spoke, he joked, "Aren't you too small to be a hunter?"

She rolled her eyes. Who did this guy think he was? She was five foot four, a perfectly average height, and her height never interfered with her ability to hunt.

"What about you? Do your ears hurt from being way up there?" she retorted. Then she walked past him waiting for an answer. "Again, I don't have time for the idiotic comments. He probably already knows we're here."

Dean kept pace with her. If she knew where the bones were buried, he might as well join her to make sure the job got done right. Not only that, but Dean didn't know just how experienced this girl was. If she was new to hunting, she might make a mistake and get herself hurt. He didn't want that, especially not by this Jacobson bastard.

"How much research did you actually do into this case?" Dean quipped in a tone that was more business-like and had lost the teasing tone from earlier.

Heather heard a rat skitter across the hall. Her flashlight had scared it away. "Daniel Jacobson, born 1932 and died 1967. Raised by a single mother. He started his serial killings at age twenty. He killed three women, all three of which were half-Hispanic and half Caucasian. He believed the races shouldn't mix and thus, he wanted to kill the products of those two races because he felt they were abominations. He was finally arrested and was incarcerated for a few years. It turned out one of the women killed was a cousin of one of the guards. The policemen organized a prison riot as a diversion so he could get his revenge on Jacobson. I did _very_ thorough research. Alright?"

"Look, I'm not insulting you or anything here. I was just curious, alright?"

Heather looked away and continued walking. She didn't have the energy to continue arguing and defending herself like she always did. She just wanted to get the job done. Although she hated to admit it, it was nice to have this guy around. The fact that she fit Jacobson's type of girl had been unnerving her throughout this entire hunt and having someone else by her side eased those nerves, even if he did happen to be a bit of a jerk.

_So she knew_, Dean thought. Although he couldn't be certain, he thought the girl _did_ look as though she were of Hispanic and Caucasian decent. Despite that, she had come on this hunt anyway. That either took balls, idiocy, or both. Dean smiled to himself ever so slightly and kept his gun close. He wasn't sure now if he was impressed by her stupidity or bravery.

Heather made a sharp left and looked at the numbers by the cellblock. This was it. If she was correct, the bones would be hidden under a compartment in the floor. The cops that had killed Jacobson did a good job of covering their tracks, but they didn't count on _her_ being around to trace down the grave.

"So, what's your name?" Dean finally asked her.

Heather walked into the room and kneeled down on the floor. Then she started tracing her fingers over the floorboards as she murmured, "Heather DeLani."

Dean stood beside her. DeLani. He never heard of any hunters by that name. Of course, it was rare that he interacted with other hunters nowadays. "I`m Dean Winchester," he said. He half expected her to look up, eyes widened at the realization of who he really was.

But she didn't. Heather kept her head lowered, fingers carefully sliding against the floor. Sure, she heard the name and the stories tied to it, but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of admitting that she's heard of him.

Dean looked rather deflated. "Have you heard of me at all?"

Heather calmly shook her head, her knee nudging her gun, which she had set down in order to handle the floorboards better. "Why would I have heard of you?"

"Well, my brother, Sam, and I have a bit of a reputation."

Heather shrugged a shoulder. "Sorry. Never heard of you," she answered.

Dean made another of his small smiles and knelt down by her. "What are you trying to do?"

"The bones. They're under the floorboards."

"Yeah? How do you know that?"

"Research, Dean."

She was beginning to sound like Sam. But how had she not heard of him before? Had she been living under a rock for the last few years?

Her thin fingers pried a floorboard loose and lifted it. Then she used her flashlight and held it over the hole. The old bones came into view.

"Could you hold the flashlight?" Heather asked Dean. She didn't really like asking, but he could at least make himself useful this way.

He took the flashlight from her and gave her a flirtatious smile, which she didn't notice because her attention was quickly drawn to the task at hand. Heather slid her small backpack off her shoulders and took out the lighter fluid, salt, and a matchbox.

Heather took the salt and poured it from the carton onto the bones. Instantly, the atmosphere seemed to have changed in the room. Jacobson was coming.

Dean kept a good grip on both the flashlight and his gun. For a ghost, this guy was rather lazy, seeing as he had yet to make an appearance.

"Might wanna hurry," he urged.

Heather grumbled quietly, "Maybe I'll just take my sweet time so Jacobson can at least get you out of my hair."

Even with that said, she quickly picked up the lighter fluid after having dumped out all the salt. Once she got the cap off, she started pouring it over the salt and bones. Her nose wrinkled in disgust at the stench of the strong fumes.

At that very moment, Jacobson appeared a few feet away from Heather. His cellmate uniform clung to his large body. It was splattered with blood and even more blood oozed from his gaping mouth as he let out an angry cry, advancing towards her.

Dean didn't hesitate before firing his gun. Jacobson disappeared again, but the hunter knew that would only buy them a few seconds.

Heather's fingers fumbled with the matches, pulling one out and struggling to make it light.

Dean's adrenaline was pumping and he rose to his feet, staying close to Heather.

Jacobson came back for a second round. He appeared by Dean, swinging a heavy fist and throwing him against the wall.

Luckily, Heather's match was finally lit. Without wasting another moment, she let the match fall into the pit.

The ghost began to burst into flames, howling in anger.

Dean lowered his gun as the ghost disappeared for good.

"Well, that was fun," he grunted, standing up.

Heather took a deep breath as she settled her things back into her backpack and rose to her feet. "If that's really your idea of fun, you might want to get a less dangerous hobby." She pulled a strap over her shoulder. "For what it's worth, thanks for the help."

Dean nodded and she glanced at the bones again.

They stood in silence, watching the fire burn out. Finally, it was down to just a few scarce embers. It was safe for Heather to return to her hotel now.

"Well, I don't know about you, Dean Winchester, but I'm ready to get out of here," she said, taking her flashlight back from him.

"You have anywhere in mind?" he asked with another suggestive grin on his face. Heather crossed her arms again, giving him another getting-real-tired-of-your-shit expression. "What? Can't blame a guy for trying."

It was odd. Heather didn't show any sign of being attracted to him at all. Dean figured maybe she was either a lesbian or she was just too committed to the job to really notice him.

But Heather _had_ noticed. She just knew how to hide her attraction and didn't really concern herself with dating, romance, or anything that could ever lead to it.

She walked past Dean, concealing her amused smile. As nice as this was, it was definitely time for her to get going. She held her flashlight out and illuminated the hallway.

Even if Dean wasn't the best of company, it was nice to have someone to talk to. She was worried she would lose her mind if she didn't talk to someone about all of this soon. Her usual partner, a witch by the name of A.J., was off taking care of a personal issue, and she had been very isolated for the past week.

"So, how long have you been hunting?" Dean asked, following after her.

"I'm from a family of hunters, so I've been in it for most of my life," she didn't feel like going into her strained relationship with her family so she quickly asked, "What about you?"

Dean cleared his throat. He shouldn't have asked her about it. How was he to know he would answer that question too? "Uh, I guess the same goes for me. I don't really remember how long I've been hunting with my brother."

"Do you two usually hunt together?"

"Yeah. Usually."

"Where is he now?"

"He, uh, decided he needed a bit of a break."

Heather nodded understandingly. "A.J. did too. She's my best friend. We've been hunting together for half a year. She's a really great person, but sometimes . . . Well, she's . . . quirky. And we need a break from each other now and then."

So she had a best friend. But she didn't say _girlfriend_, so she probably wasn't a lesbian. Then again, that didn't really mean she wasn't dating anyone either.

Dean was now more confused than ever and finally decided enough was enough. He knew he was overthinking it and he was done wracking his brain. The girl just wasn't interested in him . . . for whatever reason.

Heather walked up the staircase towards the first floor and ducked under a spider web.

"Where are you heading to after this anyway?" Dean asked, trying to start conversation again.

"To my hotel, I guess. I'll probably give A.J. a call tomorrow and see if she's done with what she needs to do. If she is, I'll be leaving town soon enough." She almost mentioned the small house she shared with A.J., the one they stayed in between hunts, but she knew better than to give strangers that kind of information.

"How often do you hunt alone? Don't get me wrong, you did an okay job, but hunting's usually safer in groups."

"We don't hunt alone _too_ often." Heather turned to her right, going towards the back exit.

"Well, look, let me give you my number. If you ever need any help, you can give me a call, alright?"

Heather stiffened in her walk. "We do just fine on our own."

"I get that. Really, I do, but at least just humor me. Alright?"

Dean honestly didn't know why he felt like he needed to insist on this. Perhaps Heather just reminded him a little bit too much of Jo. Not only that, but there were every few female hunters for a reason. Even the best female hunters tended to die young while on a hunt. Heather seemed smart and nice enough; Dean didn't want her to be one of them.

Heather stopped at the doorway of the exit. "Fine. You're not too bad to have around anyway," she muttered, pulling her cell phone from her pocket.

Dean called out the numbers to her and watched her punch them in. After she saved it, she stuffed her phone in her pocket again and shoved the door open.

The clouds above made the night sky much darker than usually was. The Impala was in a corner of the parking lot, under the added shade of a tree.

Heather's 1997 F150 was just down the street, parked in an alley, but she could see it now.

"There's my ride," she said.

"That big truck?" Dean asked with an incredulous look on his face.

This girl really was more than just a cute face.

Heather nodded and smiled proudly. It was the vehicle she spent much of her childhood in and it was one of the few things she really loved.

With a small wave, she started walking away. "So long, Dean."

Dean sighed and rubbed the back of his head. He really could have done without being tossed against a wall like that, but ghosts just_ loved_ being dicks to people.

He walked over to the Impala and got in. The beautiful car purred as he started the engine. He was just about to drive off when Heather pulled up beside him, rolling down the window of her truck.

Raising an eyebrow, he rolled his window down as well.

"Take care of yourself. And please don't open hell's gates or start the apocalypse again." She grinned brightly and then sped away with AC/DC's "Back in Black" blaring on her stereo.

It took Dean a moment for it to really sink in.

When it finally did, his jaw dropped slightly. He contemplated chasing after her to ask her why she pretended not to know who he was, but he probably wouldn't be able to catch up with her now.

Maybe she would swallow her pride and call him for help sometime. He could ask her then.


	2. Chapter Two

Heather drove her F150 down the road. The weather was so pleasant today and she felt unusually relaxed. She even had her hair down, the curls tossing around in the wind, which entered from her open window.  
A.J.'s red hair was in a ponytail at the moment and she was digging through her backpack, attempting to find her grape-flavored gum that she bought while she was in Nebraska a few weeks ago.  
The two girls had their rendezvous yesterday afternoon and now that her best friend was in the passenger seat, where she belonged, Heather's attitude was brighter again.  
"So . . . you'll never guess who I met four days ago while you were gone doing who knows what," Heather said over the sound of The Smith's "How Soon Is Now."  
A.J. continued her quest for gum. "Santa? Easter bunny? Oh! A talking dog?"  
Heather laughed. "Wrong. I met Dean Winchester."  
Her friend looked up, her green eyes widened and her eyebrows raised. "Winchester? Like the actual Winchester?"  
Heather smirked and nodded. "I met him in that abandoned prison. He was hunting the same ghost I was."  
"Huh. I think his dad had a run in with my grandmother. Ah ha!" she pulled out her back of gum.  
"Really? He didn't . . . do anything to her did he?"  
"If you had a run in with an evil witch, what would you do?"  
"Oh. I see."  
"It's alright. From what I read, she was quite the dark witch. Lots of death and weird spells and stuff."  
Heather's stomach growled. She had a habit of forgetting to eat and then the hunger would hit her all at once when she least expected it. She hated when that happened.  
She began to look around as she drove, hoping to come across a restaurant. They were on the outskirts of a small town now, which mainly consisted of a forest and a few scarce buildings.  
"Feeling hungry?" she asked.  
"Always!" A.J. replied, setting her gum in the tiny front pocket. She really needed to get around to organizing everything else in there. "So how did the ghost job go besides meeting a Winchester?"  
"Well, we got the bastard. Definitely wasn't the most difficult hunt I've ever been on. It was nothing like that time I was after that wendigo anyway."  
"Wendigo?"  
Heather's brown eyes spotted a sign advertising a diner and she could see the small building behind a few trees now. It seemed as good a place as any and she was too hungry to spend her time trying to find another restaurant.  
"Yep. Ever heard of those?"  
"No. I'm still new with anything other than witches and things that are needed for spells, remember?"  
"Right. Well, a wendigo is a creature that used to be human, but transformed into an evil spirit when it took up cannibalism. They just wander around, trying to eat humans whenever they can. And the can also imitate human voices to draw other humans towards it."  
"Sounds peachy."  
"Oh yeah. A real picnic. Hmm... Peaches. I hope they have peach cobbler here."  
A.J. patted her bag. "If they don't, then I have a solution"  
"What solution is that?" Heather pulled into the parking lot. There weren't any cars around, she liked because it meant the diner wouldn't be noisy.  
"It's a secret."  
"Hmm. Alright then."  
The girls didn't notice the small fox hiding in the bushes against the diner. He had been waiting for some time for these girls. And what a long wait that had been.  
Heather set the truck into park and cut the engine off as she grabbed her wallet off the dashboard. She got out of the car and shoved it in her back pocket. A long time ago, she used to carry around a purse, but being a hunter sometimes meant you had to pack what you could or leave things behind in an emergency. Having her essentials in her pockets was just smarter sometimes.  
A.J. slid her backpack onto her shoulders. She normally would have left it in the truck, but she wanted to show Heather the surprise while they were in the diner.  
Heather slammed her car door shut and started walking towards the diner. "Do you know what you want to eat?"  
"Food! Preferably hot food." A.J. was about to say something else when her eyes met the pair of eyes peering at her from the bushes. Slowly, the fox trotted out and then sat by the door as though it was waiting on them. "Hey, Heather, look at that."  
Heather continued to walk closer, but slowed her pace. She touched the demon protection necklace she wore under her shirt. Something really felt off about this. "That's . . . odd. I've never seen a fox out and about like this."  
"Yeah. They are usually shy creatures."  
The fox tilted his head.  
A.J.'s eyes widened and she looked at her friend. "Um, did you hear that?"  
"Hear what?"  
"That voice. He said his name is Griffin."  
Heather glanced at A.J. and the fox. Then back at A.J. again. "What are you talking about?" Her hand was on her hip now, ready to reach under her coat and pull out her gun if need be.  
"The fox. He talked. Like in my head, he said his name is Griffin and that he isn't here to hurt us."  
Heather narrowed her eyes at the little vermin. "Oh really?" The fox nodded at her and she stumbled back a step.  
"Oh," A.J. muttered.  
"What now?"  
"He said he's my familiar."  
That didn't seem to calm Heather down as much as it calmed A.J.  
"Yeah? How do you know that for sure? A.J., you can't trust anyone or anything nowadays. Especially not some flea-infested fox that can somehow talk to you."  
The fox looked around. After making sure that there were no human eyes on him, the fox changed to his human form. He had strawberry blonde hair and large, light brown eyes. He was just a couple of inches taller than Heather was and very thin. His black t-shirt was a little too large and he had a tear in his jeans.  
"Flea-infested fox? How rude," he grunted, crossing his arms.  
Heather put a hand on her hip. This wasn't the weirdest thing she had seen. Yes, it had surprised her, but, like usual, she didn't show it.  
Instead, she put on a calm face and retorted, "Well, I'm not about to comb through your hair to check."  
"I do not have fleas. Though you might."  
"I don't spend my time as a fox, hiding in bushes and I bathe regularly, so chances are that I don't. Now, if you really are A.J.'s familiar, where have you been up until now?"  
"It's taken a while to find her."  
Heather kept her bitch-face on and shrugged, walking past him and yanking the diner door open. "Clearly. Well, if you're really her familiar, you would know that she's pretty hungry. If you want to join us, you better have your own money. If I wanted a pet to feed, I would have gotten one. Come on, A.J."  
A.J. couldn't help but giggle a little as she followed Heather, but she tried to stop because she could that tell her familiar was slightly annoyed.  
He rolled his eyes and followed the girls inside, telepathically asking A.J., is she always like this?  
Not really. I think strangers bring out the worst in her. And an empty stomach makes it worse, A.J. thought back.  
Heather went over to the first booth she saw and slid in, crossing her arms on the table. A.J sat across from Heather out of habit and scooted closer to the window.  
Her familiar slid in next to her.  
Heather frowned, wishing that A.J. had sat next to her instead. She would have felt a whole lot better about this whole situation if her friend wasn't next to the stupid fleabag right now. A smirk crossed her face when she thought about kicking the guy in the balls if it came to that.  
A waitress walked over with a bundle of menus. She was a plump woman with short brown hair and a pleasant smile. "Hello. My name is Diana. I'll be your waitress today. Ya'll doin' okay?"  
The other two nodded and Heather thought to herself, lady, if you only knew.  
Diana handed out the menus. "What can I get y'all to drink?"  
"A water please," the familiar said.  
"Hot coco," was Heather's instant response.  
"Got any root beer?"  
"Yes, ma'am, we do."  
A.J. smiled. "I'd like a root beer then."  
"Alright, kids. I'll be right back with your drinks then," the waitress said before she sauntered off.  
Heather picked up her menu and scanned through until she got to the sandwiches. She already knew what she wanted, but it was always nice to double check what diners had it. Sometimes she would order something different to spice things up, but that wasn't very often. After seeing that they did have a chicken sandwich on the menu, she set it aside and looked up.  
A.J.'s green eyes were still scanning her menu. Griffin hadn't touched his. His eyes were scanning the ceiling, apparently lost in a daydream.  
The huntress crossed her arms on the table again. "So, Griffin was it? Where are you from?"  
"You can call me Finn. I'm from nowhere specific."  
"Where were you born then?"  
"I don't know actually."  
"How old are you?"  
"Don't know that either."  
"How do you not know?"  
"How would I know when I was born if I don't know where?"  
A.J. kept her eyes on her menu. Maybe she might not get dragged into this if she looked preoccupied. She imagined maybe this is what normal kids went through when their friends met their parents.  
Heather leaned back in her seat. "Well, Finn, you have such an intriguing background. I definitely trust you around A.J. now."  
"Where I am from and how old I am don't matter."  
Heather looked up and saw that Diana was returning with their drinks now. She gave Finn a scathing look as the waitress set down the drinks.  
"Here ya go. Have ya'll decided what to eat yet?"  
Heather wasted no time in ordering. "I'd like the chicken sandwich with pepper-jack cheese."  
Diana scribbled in her notepad.  
A.J. looked up. "Umm... I just want a cheese burger with fries."  
Diana scribbled the second order down and looked at the young boy. "And for you?"  
"I'm not hungry right now. I'll just stick with the water."  
"Alright. Well, let me know if you change your mind. I'll be right back with your food, ladies," the waitress said before walking away again.  
Heather glanced at Finn again. Her interrogation wasn't over yet. "What do you know about yourself?"  
"I'm Aislinn's familiar and my animal form is that of a red fox."  
"Don't call me that."  
Heather raised an eyebrow and held back a giggle. "Aislinn? No wonder you go by A.J."  
"Shut up. Only my dad calls me that and I hate it."  
Heather smiled kindly. "Okay. Next person who calls you that and knows better than to, I'll punch them. Deal?"  
Her friend grinned. "Deal."  
Heather turned her attention to the familiar. "Hey, fox-boy, what was A.J.'s first name again?"  
The boy frowned and sighed.  
"Alright, back to business. Most people at least know when they were born. What happened? Did you lose all your memories or something?"  
"Most people know because someone told them or they lived in the same place for a long time. I am a supernatural creature, so staying in the same place isn't really an option and I don't have parents to tell me where I was born."  
"Yeah? Well, I'm not buying it. Someone had to have taken care of you when you were a kid. Infants can't survive on their own."  
"Infant humans cannot. A fox kit, however, can."  
"Oh, really?"  
"Yes. Really."  
A.J. pulled out her notebook from her backpack and started flipping through a few pages, reading the old notes she had scribbled down. She still had no desire to get involved.  
But Heather pulled her into it anyway. "So, how do you feel about this? Supposedly having this fleabag as a familiar?"  
"I don't know. As far as I can tell, none of my ancestors had them. I didn't think white witches usually have familiars."  
"They do, but you're not a full white witch since your grandmother and mother were dark witches."  
"Wait, my mom was a witch?"  
"Yes. A very powerful one too."  
A.J. looked down at her notebook again.  
"How is it that you know so much about A.J. anyway?" Heather said, noticing that A.J. wanted out of the conversation again.  
"A lot of familiars know about her," Finn answered. "She's supposed to be one of the most powerful witches, once she figures everything out that is."  
Heather raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly is it that she needs to figure out?"  
"How much magic she can handle. Powerful spells take a lot of magic, but if she can handle it then she can be very dangerous."  
Heather smiled at A.J. "Good thing you're on my side then."  
"Isn't it dangerous to do powerful spells though? My dad said that's what killed my mom. She did a spell that she couldn't handle."  
"It can be dangerous, but that's why I'm here. To help. And a spell isn't what killed your mother."  
"What killed her then? Since you seem to know everything," Heather snapped.  
"The thing that tends to kill dark witches, a hunter."  
"Oh."  
Heather looked at her friend, but the witch had lowered her eyes to her notebook again. This is why the two girls had an agreement to never tell anyone the truth. Hunters would kill her without a second thought. Hell, Heather almost did before she found out that A.J. was being framed by another witch in town.  
Diana began to walk over and set down two plates in front of the girls. "Alright now. Here's your chicken sandwich. Your cheeseburger. And are you sure you don't want anything to eat, sweetie?" she asked Finn.  
"No, thank you."  
"Alright then," she said, walking away.  
Heather grabbed a ketchup bottle and squirted a glob of it on the corner of her plate.  
A.J. tucked her notebook back into her book bag and began nibbling at her food.  
Heather stuffed a couple of fries and barely waited to swallow them down before saying, "Okay, here's the deal, Finn. I have trust issues. Some might see that as a bad thing, but my lack of trust has saved my life a few times, as well as A.J.'s. Therefore, until you give me a reason to trust you, I'm not going to. But I will give you the benefit of the doubt . . . for now."  
Well, it was better than nothing.  
"That's fine with me," he replied.  
Heather blew at her hot coco, cooling it down before taking a long sip. Then she picked up her sandwich and a piece of lettuce fell to the plate as her teeth sunk into it.  
A.J. dipped her fries into some ketchup at took a bite, staring intently at the table.  
"No," Finn said as he stirred the ice in his glass with his straw.  
Heather glanced up with too much food in her mouth now. She put her hand over it so she doesn't gross anyone out when she asked, "What?"  
He gestured to her friend. "She was wondering if it was normal for a familiar to take a fox form. No, it isn't normal."  
"That's creepy. Don't read my mind." A.J. started eating her burger, trying to block her thoughts now.  
"Out of curiosity, how did you two meet?" Finn asked.  
"I was hunting a witch in Iowa and all signs were leading to A.J., but it turned out that she was being framed by another witch in town. After that, A.J. just decided to stick with me."  
"What a fun time that was," her friend said. "At least you got the right witch eventually."  
Heather grinned and gulped down a fry. "I know, right? Can you imagine how boring my life would be right now without you?" Then she smiled teasingly. "Of course, if you weren't here, I wouldn't have to deal with fox-boy here."  
A.J. reached into her bag. "Your life would be so boring! Plus you wouldn't have these." She pulled out the small box of gourmet cookies.  
Heather finished up her chicken sandwich and scarfs down her fries. She eyed the cookies ravenously. "Don't tease me with desert before I've finished my dinner, missy."  
A.J. smiled and set the cookies on the table. "I would never tease you with dessert," she said as she picked up her burger to finish it off. "I picked up a few boxes of those so you won't have cookie withdrawal or anything."  
"Do I have cookie withdrawal? I know I tend to get a little irritable when I haven't had a sweet in a while, but . . ."  
Finn glanced over at A.J. before looking down to stir the ice in his cup again.  
"You seemed to have some cookie withdrawal on our last hunt."  
Heather finished her last fry and then opened the box to take a cookie. "Really? Funny. I never really notice it happening."  
Diana walked over again. "Everything going alright? Need anything else?"  
Finn answered, "I think we're doing fine."  
"Yeah, we'd like our check now, please," Heather said before finishing her hot coco.  
A.J. was done with her burger and eating the last of her fries.  
"Alright then," the waitress said.  
Heather glanced at the cookie box and took another. These were much better than peach cobbler. "Well, this should at least last me a day or two."  
A.J. patted her bag. "I have a few boxes in here and a couple more that I hid."  
Heather smiled. "Maybe a week or two then."  
The waitress came back with the check, set it down, and leaves again to take care of an elderly couple that had just entered the diner.  
A.J. pulled out her wallet, but Heather took the bill and stood up. "I got this, A.J. Don't worry about it," she said. Then she walked up to the cash register to prevent her friend from argue.  
A.J. mumbled to herself, "Fine. I'll slip some money into your pockets later."  
Her familiar looked at her and said, "We need to deal with your father."  
"What?"  
"I said that we need to deal with your father."  
A.J. took the cookie box and placed it in her backpack, zipping it up. "No. Now move so I can get out."  
Finn slid out of the booth.  
Heather made her way back to the table and set a few dollars out as a tip for the waitress. "I guess you're coming with us then, Finn?"  
"Yes, I am."  
A.J. slid out and pulled a strap over her shoulder. "Don't forget the cookies"  
Heather picked up the cookies and smirked at Finn. "Don't get any fleas on the backseat."  
Finn was getting tired of this. "I don't have fleas."  
She ignored him and walked towards the door.  
From behind the counter, Diana called out, "Ya'll have a nice day!"  
"You too, ma'am," Finn replied.  
Heather smiled and gave the waitress a wave goodbye as she pushed the door open and held it open for A.J. The girls walked out and Finn followed them quietly.  
After making sure the coast was clear, he changed into his animal form and trotted along after A.J. This wasn't exactly how had planned out his day. With every other familiar and witch he had seen, their bond had been much stronger. He could tell his relationship with A.J. wouldn't be quite the same though.  
His mistress looked down at him. "Are you gonna be mostly a fox or human?"  
Finn flicked his ear in reply and replied, I'm comfortable in either form, but for the purposes of annoying Heather, I think I will remain in my fox form while we travel.  
A.J. smiled a little and nodded. It was weird having someone that instantly knew things about her and could read her mind. She was used to keeping things to herself, not having everything out in the open like this. She was glad Finn respected her wishes and hadn't ventured into her mind since she scolded him for reading her thoughts earlier.  
Heather unlocked her door and opened it, hitting the bottom on the side to unlock the other doors as well.  
A.J. set her backpack in the middle seat and hopped into the passenger's side. Finn quickly hopped in before A.J. could shut the door and curled up on her lap, wrapping his bushy tail around himself.  
Heather gazed at Finn and then at A.J. She was about to tell Finn to get in the backseat, but she didn't know if A.J. wanted that. She didn't know the first thing about a witch's relationship with a familiar after all. Maybe A.J. didn't care.  
"Uh, mind sitting in the back, Finn?" A.J suddenly asked with her hands raised. She usually set them on her lap when she was sitting down. Perhaps if she was closer to Finn, she wouldn't mind having him sit there and she would have even petted him while they traveled, but it she just didn't feel comfortable with that yet.  
Finn understood and carefully climbed over A.J. to get to the backseat.  
Heather shook her head and put the key in the ignition, starting the truck up. Then she backed out and left the diner parking lot.  
For a few minutes, they rode with only the sound of the radio to break the silence. The girls barely even noticed when Finn curled up and fell asleep.  
After a while, Heather noticed and asked, "Do you think he's one of the good guys?"  
A.J. glanced out the window. "Well, he wants to deal with my dad, so for now I'm going with yes."  
"Deal with your dad how exactly?" She knew what A.J.'s dad had done to her over the years and he deserved some bad spells his way, but somehow, she didn't think that's what A.J. meant.  
"It doesn't matter. I'm not going home to see him."  
Heather shrugged and glanced at the backseat again, muttering, "Fleabag."  
Finn's ear twitched. Even in his sleep, he managed to look offended.


	3. Chapter Three

Dean finished cooking the last of the burgers and set them on the plate, carrying them back inside the bunker. He was almost getting used to this. For once, there was nothing big happening. Sam was safe in the kitchen, just doing some research on his laptop and Cas was in his room, although Dean didn't really know what he was up to.

He was just glad that everything was finally calm for once. No apocalypse. No leviathans. No falling angels. For _once_, the world didn't need saving. He was back to just regular hunting.

He never thought he would be so relieved to just do regular hunting.

Dean entered the kitchen and glanced at Sam. His brother's eyebrows were furrowed, concentrating on whatever he was reading online.

"You got anything?"

"No. Still looking. There's been a few murders in Detroit. The victims were all women in their early twenties, but it could just be a regular serial killer. And it _is_ Detroit."

Dean shrugged a shoulder. "Well, we have nothing else going on. Maybe looking into it wouldn't be a complete waste of time."

His brother nodded and continued typing and clicking things on his laptop. His eyes had not left the screen throughout their conversation.

Dean set the plate of beef patties down on the table. "Cas! Food!" he called out as he took an empty plate and began to build his own burger. "Sam, come on. Get off for a sec and eat."

"No thanks. I'm not really hungry."

"Well, at least eat some French fries. I managed not to burn them this time!"

"Alright. Just . . . give me a minute." Sam behaved like a teen blogger being hurried by a parent and started typing and scrolling down pages faster.

It was strange that all he ever wanted was to live a normal life and now, besides going on the occasional hunt, he now had the closest thing he ever would have to a normal. The three men lived very comfortably in the old Men of Letters bunker. He sometimes thought about refusing to go on the hunts, going out to get a job, and maybe work on getting his degree, but he knew he never really would. How many times had he tried to stop hunting and failed? This kind of life just never left you.

Dean rolled his eyes at his younger brother as he finished making his burger and went over to the stove, grabbing a handful of homemade French fries from the pan. He placed them on his plate and squirted some ketchup on them.

Castiel appeared by the entrance of the kitchen.

"Cheese burgers, your favorite," Dean said, grabbing a cold coke from the refrigerator.

"Thank you, Dean, but you _do_ remember that I don't need to eat. Don't you?" Cas said as he stepped closer.

"'Course I know that. Doesn't mean you shouldn't eat anyway."

A very small smile crossed Cas's face as he began to put his burger together. By now, he knew the basics of things like this. Although Dean once said that without his powers, he would be a _baby in a trench coat_, Cas had become so much more since then. A few pop culture references still went over his head at times, he didn't have nearly as much trouble understanding things as he did before.

Even though he was often on earth, he also still visited heaven for time to time. He liked to make sure his brothers and sisters were doing well and that nobody was causing any trouble.

Dean sat down at the table with his food and lifted his burger off the plate, ready to bite into the juicy meat, but his phone went off before he could even open his mouth. He set his burger down and his eyebrows furrowed as he dug through pocket, pulling out his cellphone.

He didn't recognize the number, but he answered it anyway. "Hello?"

"Dean? It's Heather."

"Heather?"

It had been a month since he met the girl and hadn't heard from her since then. He was beginning to think he never would.

He looked at Cas and Sam. Cas was adding French fries to his plate now and Sam waiting on Cas to scoot over so he could get a few on his plate too.

"Yes. Heather. That's what I said. Look, my friend and I have discovered a vampire nest. There's too many for us to take on alone. We're going to need any kind of backup we can get, which is why I called you."

"Where ya at?"

"Augusta, Missouri."

"Alright. We'll be there as soon as we can."

There was a pause and then Heather muttered, "Thanks, Dean. I'll see you soon."

The line went dead and Dean put his phone away, smiling a little. It was nice to hear her voice.

Heather irritably put down her phone. There was almost _nothing _she hated more than asking for help, but she knew there was no way she, A.J., and Finn could do this alone.

"Did you call him?" A.J. said, peaking into her room.

Heather stood up from her bed and glanced at her phone. "Yeah," she grumbled, walking past her friend.

She was already wishing that she hadn't called, but she knew she had no choice.

The vampires were only a town over from where she and A.J. lived, so the danger was hitting a little too close to home.

Heather stuffed her phone into her pocket and started walking down the hall, towards the stairs. "We should probably get our things organized."

"What kinds of things will we need?"

"We'll need to gather some swords to cut off their heads. And I need to see how many syringes of dead man's blood we have."

A.J. bit her lip uncertainly. She had very little experience with sword fighting and she didn't think she was actually strong enough to cut off someone's head. "I'm going to check my notes to see if I've have any spells that'll work on them," she said.

Heather walked down the steps of the staircase and stepped into the living room. "Good luck with that. Are we taking Finn with us? It's your call after all."

"Yeah, if you don't mind him there. The Winchesters will give me the shivers, so maybe Finn can help with that."

Heather stopped and turned around. "If you think he'll help you, sure. Let him tag along."

"But will you be okay if he's there?"

"I'm indifferent. Whatever you want, it's fine. He's _your_ familiar. I trust you to make the right decisions when it comes to the fox-boy."

A.J. nodded. "Okay."

Heather grinned brightly and started skipping to the basement door. "I'm gonna go down to my dungeon now!"

"Okay then," her friend replied with an amused grin. Then she turned to walk upstairs, to her room.

Heather unlocked the basement door and flicked the lights on as she went downstairs. Her "dungeon" was basically an armory and panic room, stocked with almost everything a hunter could ever need. When Heather wasn't on a case, she liked to spend most of her time down there, searching for new cases and organizing her weapons.

She walked to the sword rack and pulled out her katana from its sheath. She wanted to practice a little before she needed to pack all the required supplies.

Heather pulled out her torn-up dummy from behind the steps. She would need to get a new one soon. The poor thing had so many stab wounds already.

She affectionately called him Bob sometimes. Other times, he shared the same name as whoever pissed her off at the time.

Upstairs, Finn trotted from the kitchen to the living room in his animal form. In the time that he had been here, he had tried to stay out of Heather's way. One of the first things she said to him was that he wasn't allowed in her room and the basement, but she had left the basement door ajar and he was curious as to what as down there. What would be the harm in looking from the doorway?

He lied down and wagged his tail slowly. So, this is what it looked like? There was a whole arsenal down there!

In her room, A.J. was already fishing out her notebooks from her backpack and looking through them. The notebooks were now scattered across her bed and she quickly flipped through pages. She knew exactly what spells she would need, just not how to cast them. After a few more minutes of looking, she found them. The first one would allow her to trap supernatural creatures in a building. The second would help her control fire.

She ripped out a plank piece of paper from her spare notebook and began writing down the ingredients she was low on. After writing the last one down, she took a deep breath and went downstairs again.

Heather watched as the dummy's head finally fell from his shoulders. "Well, so much for practice," she grumbled, rolling her shoulders back. She looked up and finally noticed Finn at the doorway. "What are you looking at, you little creep?"

Finn motioned at the dummy with his nose.

Heather glanced at the dummy and then back at Finn. She began to walk up the staircase to shut the door, but stopped when A.J. came into view. "Hey, why was the fleabag watching me?"

Finn looked up at the witch. _I was just curious what it looked like down there. That's all._

"He was curious as to what it looked like down there. That's all," A.J. said as she folded up her list of ingredients and handed it to Finn.

_Can you get these for me?_

_Of course_, Finn replied with a wag of his tail as he took the paper in his mouth.

Heather rolled his eyes and looked at Finn, putting a hand on her hip. "He better never keep up this stalker act when I'm up in my room getting dressed or whatever."

_I'd never do that. There are easier ways to blind myself, _Finn thought.

A.J. overheard and resisted the urge to put her palm over her face. Would these two ever get along?

Finn turned and ran off, escaping through the doggy-door in the back of the kitchen.

"He's really not that bad," A.J. murmured.

"Who the hell just sits there and watches someone attacking a dummy?"

"It's not like he has much else to do around here."

Heather sighed. "We need to get him a hobby or something. Knitting. Cooking. Whatever. Or maybe I can teach him to sword fight so I won't have to destroy all my dummies. I could just use him instead!"

A.J. remained quiet a moment and then asked, "Hey, Heather?"

"Uh-huh?"

"What happens if the Winchesters figure out what I am?"

Heather smiled comfortingly. "I won't let them hurt you. Neither will Finn. You're on _our_ side. We'll make them understand that."

A.J. tugged the sleeve of her grey coat nervously. "But I've heard a lot about what the Winchesters do to monsters."

Heather touched A.J.'s shoulder. "Yeah, to the _bad_ monsters. You're not one of them. You're _good_. Have a little faith in me, okay? We'll try to keep it a secret for as long as we can and then if they find out, I'll deal with it. You might die someday, A.J., but it definitely won't be on my watch."

A.J. nodded, mustering up a weak smile. "Thanks."

Her friend dropped her arm back to her side. "Anytime."


	4. Chapter Four

Heather rolled her shoulders back and opened the back of her truck, looking at all her supplies. It was midday and already she was slightly stressed out. She briefly looked at the run-down factory, which was covered in an overgrowth of plants.

She hated to admit it, but she was afraid. She always carried that sense of fear that something would go wrong and someone would get hurt, but she couldn't show it. Especially not know.

A.J. was afraid enough for the both of them. She stood by the truck with her hands in her pockets, touching the hex bags she had made just earlier that day.

Finn was in his fox form again. He nudged the witch's leg with his nose. _You should go set those bags out now._

"Oh, right," she spoke. "Heather, I'll be back. I need to go place some hex bags out around the building."

"What will those hex bags do?"

"They'll lock supernatural creatures inside the building. Things can still get in, but they can't get out until one of the bags has been burned."

Heather glanced down at Finn. "What about _him_? Will he be able to go in and out? And you should probably change into a guy if you want to be of any use, Finn."

"Uh . . . I think Finn and I would both be stuck inside, but I'm not entirely sure. I've never used this before," A.J. answered as her familiar changed into a human.

Heather thought about it a moment. "I guess I could run out and burn one of the bags when we're done. Hopefully, I can manage to get that done without the Winchesters noticing. "

"I can wait until we go inside and put the last bag in there so it will be easier to reach when we are done."

Heather nodded. "Good idea. Well, go ahead and place the other three bags then. I need to get these swords sorted out. I'm not even sure which one I want to use yet."

A.J. quietly nodded and headed toward the building.

Her familiar put his hands in the pockets of his jeans, rocking back and forth on his heels. "So . . . what should _I_ do?"

Heather pulled out one of the swords and turned it in her hand, testing the weight. "I don't know. Why didn't you go with A.J?"

"She told me to stay here."

Heather took a deep breath and looked at him. "Look, if the guys find out what she is, don't let them anywhere near her unless I say it's okay. Understand?"

"I'd rather they not be near her at all."

"I know, but we do need their help."

Finn leaned against the truck and looked at the ground.

"Are you going to need a sword? I mean, how are you going to be of any help?"

"I can use a sword or the dead man's blood. Whatever you're comfortable with me having."

Heather selected one of the swords and looked at it. She hesitated a moment and then held it out to Finn. The kid hadn't killed her in her sleep yet, so maybe it was time to cut him some slack and began to trust him a little more.

Finn took the sword, understanding the look in her eyes. This was kind of a big deal for her and he would do his best to keep Heather from distrusting him again. He twirled the sword and tested its weight.

Heather looked away and shoved the rest of the swords into the secret compartment of her truck, but left the cooler of dead man's blood out. She hoped A.J. would be back soon so it wouldn't be so quiet. She hated awkward silences.

Dean drove down a dirt road and asked, "Sam, are you sure we are going the right way?"

His brother was sitting in the passenger's seat as usual. "Yes, Dean. I checked the map. Okay?"

"I'm just saying, we've seen nothing but trees for hours."

From the backseat, Castiel could tell there might be another fight starting and he interjected, "I believe Sam's right. We are going in the right direction."

Sam smirked a little and his brother glared at him. "Shut up."

"I didn't say anything."

The dirt road made a left turn and Dean followed it, watching as the factory came into view. "That it?"

Dean soon saw Heather's truck hidden against a few bushes and three figures standing close to it. He assumed the other girl was A.J., but who was that other guy?

A.J. saw the Impala and took another deep breath to try calming her nerves.

Heather touched A.J.'s back, standing in front of her just a little. "You'll be okay," she whispered. The witch nodded, hoping no one will see her hands shaking.

Dean pulled up and cuts the engine off. Then he got out of the car and grinned, carrying the blade he still had from his time in purgatory. "Hey."

Sam and Cas also got out of the car. Sam had a machete and Cas . . . Well, he never really needed anything except his hands.

Heather looked at Sam. "Wow. You're like a mammoth."

Sam smiled and chuckled a little. "What?"

She shook her head. "Nothing."

Dean rolled his eyes and walked closer, slightly sidestepping in front of Sam. "This is my brother, Sam. And over there is Cas. He's an angel."

"_Castiel_ the angel? Well, nice to meet you." Heather said. Castiel's name was tied to the Winchester's name so often that she had heard almost every tale about him by now. She didn't know he was still around though. Heather always assumed that he went back to heaven after it was restored.

"A pleasure to meet you too," Castiel said.

Heather kept her hand on A.J.'s back, patting it slightly. "This is A.J. and this brat over here is Finn." Finn rolled his eyes and she grinned at his annoyed expression. "Anyway, now that we have the formalities set aside, why don't we get down to business?"

"How many of them are in there?"

"Somewhere between twenty and thirty and because the factory is kidna large, they might be scattered, so we'll need to split up. The three of us will take the north and east wings. You three can take the south and west wings. I've got plenty of dead man's blood in this cooler. If we can't kill them all in their sleep, this will at least help us kill them easier when they are awake."

"Well, nice to know you came prepared," Dean said.

"I always am. Help yourselves to the blood and let's get going." Heather grabbed a handful of syringes from the cooler, handed them out to A.J. and Finn. They followed her as she began walking.

The boys lingered behind, stocking up on the syringes.

"She's . . . nice," Sam said.

Dean nodded. "All business, that girl." He glanced at Castiel. "You won't need these, will you?"

Cas smirked and shook his head.

The trio soon walked and tried to catch up with Heather.

She was waiting by the door with the other two and just got done pick-locking the door. With a soft turn of the knob, it gradually opened.

Heather walked inside and waved her hand for everyone else to enter.

A.J.'s fingers locked around the last hex bag in her pocket and her familiar touched her arm as they walked, trying to comfort her.

Dean and his brother walked in, followed by Castiel.

Heather pointed at Dean and then at the hall to their right.

He nodded and led his posse away.

Castiel glanced back at A.J. again. He could sense the witchcraft around her, but he didn't feel as though she would cause him and the Winchesters problems. If Dean trusted Heather enough to come and help her on this hunt, then perhaps A.J. could be trusted as well.

The witch waited until she was far enough away down the opposite hallway before whispering to Finn and Heather, "I think the angel was staring at me."

"I don't know much about angels, but maybe he knows," replied Heather. "I'm sorry, A.J. I didn't count on him coming too, but this doesn't change anything. If he tells them, Finn and I will still keep you safe."

Finn twirled his sword and nodded adamantly.

The redhead bit her lip and looked away. There was a fire extinguisher against a wall. She figured it was as good a spot as any for the hex bag. She tucked it in behind the extinguisher and hoped the Winchesters and Castiel wouldn't come around this way to see it.

Finn shuttered when he felt the magic seal them inside.

Castiel furrowed his eyebrows.

Something felt odd. It was as though the atmosphere got heavier and a magical band had wrapped itself around the building. He continued walking with the Winchesters, realizing what it was. The witch had just casted a strong spell that would keep the vampires inside. Clever.

Heather reached a door to her left and grabbed the handle, softly turning it. There were two small cots in the room and two figures sleeping in them.

Finn and Heather moved toward the vampires while A.J. stood by the doorway, ready to use her powers if something went wrong.

Heather looked at the boy and holds up three fingers. Slowly, she puts the fingers down one by one. When she got to zero, she brought the sword down and it cut straight through the female's head. At the same time, Finn decapitated the male. Heather stepped away and went to the door again, motioning for them to continue.

In the opposite part of the building, Dean glanced to his right and saw a large doorway that led to some sort of computer room. The computers are covered in dust, but he noticed the four hammocks hanging from the ceiling, occupied by four vampires.

He walked in and made his way towards one of the hammocks while his brother went to another hammock and readied his machete.

Cas was already by the last two. His hands hovered over their heads.

Dean looked at Cas and Sam. "Now," he said.

The Winchesters brought down their blades and the angel set his hands on the vampires and used his powers to burn them from the inside out. With a twist and pull, their heads came off.

Meanwhile, Heather was already trying to find the next small group of vampires. Her feet carefully avoided the shattered glass as she walked and saw another door to her right. It opened quietly and she sucks in her breath when she sees ten of the damn bloodsuckers sleeping. They were in cots and hammocks all along the otherwise mostly empty room.

"Well, shit," she whispered.

A.J. looked in. It looked like she might actually get to use her other new spells. Reading her thoughts, Finn passed his syringes to her.

"What are you doing?" Heather asked, watching the exchange.

"A new spell. Don't worry. I can do this." A.J. stepped inside and quietly closed the door behind them. She quickly started whispering a spell.

"We can't risk something going wrong."

Finn stood against the door. "She can do this."

A.J. finished her spell and pulled out a lighter from her pocket, flicking it open. She started whispering another spell as she approached the vampires. _Finn, make sure to get as many of them as you can if something does go wrong._

_I will,_ the familiar replied.

A.J. waved her hand, taking the flame from the lighter. She whispered as she moved her fingers, making the flame enlarge until it was the size of a basketball. She took some of the dead man's blood and added it to the fire before she started sending flames at the vampires. The room filled with light as the fire shredded through their necks all at once.

The fire disappeared as A.J. sunk to her knees, breathing hard. She was trembling slightly and her face had grown pale.

Not too far away, the Winchesters had just finished off a total seven vampires when Castiel looked away, sensing the amount of magic A.J. had just used.

His gaze returned to the brothers and said, "There are still two others. They are in Heather's corner of the factory."

"Well, let's go find them then. No use standing around here," Dean replied, shoving a door open and walking ahead.

Heather rushed over to A.J. and grabbed her arm. "Are you okay?"

A.J. nodded. "Think there are many left?"

"I don't know, but no more magic for you today," Finn said, going to A.J.'s other side and helping her stand.

As she rose, her friend added, "You shouldn't have pushed yourself like that, A.J."

"We came to do a job, right? I'm fine, so let's get the rest of them," the witch said.

Heather took a deep breath as she turned and opened the door. "Just because we're on a job, that does _not_ mean you get to work your magic to the point of almost passing out."

_I wasn't about to pass out_, A.J thought.

_Yes, you were._

A.J. frowned and looked back at her familiar. "I'm _fine_. Okay?"

"Don't do that again," Heather grumbled, walking down the hall.

"It's just 'cause I'm not used to that much magic yet."

"Then work your way up to it. Don't do it all at once like that."

Finn interjected, "If she would have listened to me she would have been somewhat tired, but still fine."

"I_ am_ fine," A.J. said, an exasperated tone in her voice.

Finn said, "Just don't speed up the spells. You aren't ready for that yet."

"Yes, I am."

"Shh!" Heather scolded as she made another right at the end of the hall.

A.J. whispered, "Sorry."

_You're _not_ ready_, Finn said after deciding to continue the argument telepathically.

She shot him a look and he smiled a little.

Heather looked at the door to her left, hearing a noise behind it. Suddenly, the door is flung open and two vampires lunged out. The first one dug its nails into Heather's arms and flung her against a wall. Her right shoulder sunk into a loose nail poking out from the wall and she screamed in pain.

A.J. instinctively thrusted her hands out, sending the vampires flying back against the wall. Then she lifted the two vampires off the ground, she made a twisting motion with her hand and decapitated the vampires.

Finn stepped towards the witch. "A.J. ―"

_Heather. Stay with Heather. Help her. I'll be fine. _

Finn took a deep breath. As her familiar, he had no choice but to obey.

Heather looked at her shoulder and squeezed her eyes shut. She pushed off the wall and screamed as the nail slid out of her shoulder. Finn held her up on her feet just as she was about to slump to the floor.

"No! Get A.J! Get her!" she screamed.

"I can't. She told me to stay with you and you know I can't disobey a direct order from her."

A.J. was leaning against a wall, her forehead sheer with sweat. "I'll be fine," she said, still staring at the vampires. She didn't know that she could do that trick.

Blood stained Heather's hand as she touched her shoulder, attempting to stop the blood. Her adrenaline was kicking in now, but she knew that wouldn't last too long. Soon, the pain would be intolerable.

"Heather?!" Dean's voice wasn't too far away now.

She heard him and thought fast. "A.J., l -let Finn go. The hex bag. I-I think that's the last of the vampires."

The witch nodded and moved towards her friend. They both slumped to the floor and A.J. handed Finn her lighter. He gave them a fleeting glance before he raced off to burn the last hex bag.

"Let me see how bad it is," A.J. said.

"It's not as bad as it feels."

"Heather, answer me damn it!" Dean was growing more concerned.

"Over here!" she managed to call back.

A.J. began to relax a little when she felt the sealing spell lift. Finn had succeeded in burning the hex bag.

Dean almost skidded into the hallway, accompanied by the two other men. "What happened?"

"We had a tea party! But it got a little out of hand," A.J. replied.

Normally, Dean would have a comeback, but he just wasn't prepared for that kind of sarcasm at the moment.

Castiel furrowed his eyebrows. "A tea party?"

Sam explained, "She was being sarcastic."

"Oh."

"Right. Heather's hurt. Nail in her shoulder."

"I got it out now . . ." she whispered.

Castiel stepped closer. "I could heal her."

Heather squeezed her eyes shut. "I'll be fine. I just want to get out of here already. If anything, heal A.J. The vampire fought with her pretty hard."

"I'm not hurt."

"Really? Then neither am I."

A.J. looked up. "Castiel, could you please just patch her up?"

He nodded and walked closer even under Heather's annoyed glare. He knelt down and slowly began to heal her. Heather closed her eyes again as the pain slowly faded away.

Then he rose to his feet and looked at A.J. again. He knew why she was so tired. That spell was very powerful. Perhaps he could confront the witch later on. He still didn't sense anything dark about her after all.

Finn appeared at the end of the hall and the Winchesters instinctively raised their weapons, but lowered them after realizing that it was okay. The familiar walked over to A.J and helped her to her feet. Then he held out his hand to Heather as well, but she shook her head and rose to her feet by herself.

"Thanks, Castiel," she told the angel.

He nodded.

"Do you know if there's any left?" Finn asked.

"If there were, my stupid screaming would have drawn them to us by now," Heather gripped.

"But you_ did_ have a nail in your shoulder," Dean pointed out.

She shrugged with a good-natured smile. "I could use some beer. How about everyone else?"

"It's the middle of the day," Sam replied.

"Then meet us at the bar at eight. I have to go home and change anyway. I think the other girls would be jealous of all the blood on my clothes. I've heard that blood-splatter in style nowadays."


	5. Chapter Five

Heather sat at a small table and wondered when the guys were going to get there. The bar was already slightly crowded and a live band was playing familiar songs. Karaoke time would start soon and she figured she might sing a song or two if the drinks gave her enough courage.

A.J. tugged on her sleeves and glances around, watching the people dance. She was sitting between Heather and Finn, which not only made her feel a little calmer, but she thought it also kept the two from arguing.

Heather elbowed A.J. "It'll be fine. The job is done and they have no reason to hurt you."

"That doesn't mean they won't."

"You need a drink."

A.J. shook her head and stuffed her hands in her pockets.

"It will help you _relax_," her friend sang.

"You know I can't. It messes with my magic."

Heather shrugged a shoulder and glanced at Finn, hoping he would help peer pressure A.J. too, but the boy stirred the ice in his cup, pretending not to feel Heather's eyes on him.

The band began playing their rendition of "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele as the front door opened and the three men walked inside.

Heather looked at the band, unsure if she preferred the male singer's gravelly voice over Adele's. Then her eyes wandered to the front door across the bar from her, taking notice of the guys.

Dean smiled a little and the three men began making their way through the crowd. Heather picked up her strawberry daiquiri and scooted down the circular booth. As he sat down by her, Dean commented, "This place is pretty crowded for only eight o' clock."

"It's a small town. There's not enough to do here on a Saturday night other than get wasted."

Sam slid in and Cas sat at the end of the booth so he was now facing Finn and A.J. He was already wondering how to pull her aside so he can talk to her privately without it alerting the others. The witch held her hands on the table and looked down at them, trying not to look terrified.

Noticing that the rest of their party arrived, their waitress walked over with the bloomin' onions Heather ordered earlier. She set it down and then said, "Hi, I'm Meggie. What can I get you guys?"

"Just a beer for me," Dean said. Then he glanced at Heather's large appetizer. "And you know what? Give me an order of whatever that is too."

"Bloomin' onions," Heather said, eagerly taking one and dipping it into the horseradish. "Want to try one?"

"Sure, but I might take more than one."

"Help yourself. So long as I can have as many as I want from your plate too, it's cool."

"Can I get another coke?" Finn asked the waitress. He had already finished his first one.

Maggie nodded and smiled brightly at him.

Sam said, "I'll have a beer too."

Maggie tapped Castiel's shoulder. "What about you?"

He stopped staring at A.J. and looked up. "Oh, uh, nothing for me. Thanks."

The waitress's eyes fell on A.J. "What about you? Are you sure you don't want anything?"

"I . . . I guess I'll have a water."

"Alright then. I'll be right back," Maggie said before walking away.

Heather dipped another onion in the horseradish sauce and looked up at the others. "You guys can have some too, you know. Might as well get some before Dean and I devour them all."

Dean already had three in his mouth. Why hadn't he ever tried these before?

All the others politely shook their heads and said 'no thanks,' except for Finn, who reached out and nibbled on one.

"So, how did you three start hunting?" Sam asked.

Heather looked at A.J. with wide eyes. She wasn't expecting that question. However, she quickly regained her composure and turned to Sam again. "I met A.J while I was hunting on my own. I nearly killed her because I mistook her for a witch, but she was just being framed by another witch in the neighborhood. It's kind of a long story that we'd rather not get into. And Finn is her cousin, so, unfortunately, he kind of just comes with the package."

Finn grinned at Heather and she took a sip of her drink before smirking back at him.

"How old are you guys anyway?" Dean asked. He realized he was close to eating most of Heather's onions now and tried to slow down a bit.

"18," A.J. muttered.

"20."

Heather raised an eyebrow at Finn's reply, but realized he was probably lying. Then she looked back at the guys with a mysterious smile and asked, "How old do I _look_?"

"Uh, twenty-two?" Dean asked.

Heather shook her head. "Older."

"Older, huh? Twenty-six?"

Heather shook her head again, enjoying this game. She didn't like telling people her age for some reason, which is why only her family and A.J. knew how old she_ really_ was.

The waitress returned, handing out the drinks. "Hi, fellas. I've got your drinks."

"Thanks," Finn managed to say before she nodded and scurried away again. She had entirely too many tables to wait on tonight.

Sam opened his beer and looked at the three younger hunters. However old Heather was, it was still sad that they had been sucked into this lifestyle so early on, just as he was.

"Anyway, what was stopping the apocalypse like?" Heather asked him and his brother.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Oh, it was plenty of fun."

Sam laughed.

Realizing that those three were distracted in their own conversation now, Castiel cleared his throat and leaned across the table to A.J, murmuring under the sound of the music, "We need to speak privately."

Her green eyes went wide. "Uh . . . Okay. I guess."

"About what?" Finn interrupted.

"Witchcraft."

A.J. turned paler than normal. "Okay."

Finn glanced over at Heather, reaching behind A.J. to tug her shirt and get her attention.

She looked up just as Castiel rose to his feet.

"Uh, Cas? Where ya going?" Dean asked, also noticing the angel.

"A.J. and I need to have a private conversation. We'll return soon."

A.J. pushed Finn's shoulder gently. _Let me out._

_I don't like this,_ he thought as he unwillingly slid out from the booth.

_I know you don't_, A.J. replied, also rising to her feet. _Just sit down and stay here. _

After letting her out, Finn crossed his arms over his chest and sat down again.

Heather gave A.J. an uncertain look. She couldn't make her friend sit back down, not without making the Winchesters suspicious. And what if it was nothing?

"Come back soon," she ended up saying. "When it's karaoke time, I think I want you to be my duet partner."

A.J. gave her friend a weak smile as Cas turned and began walking towards the exit. She reluctantly followed the angel out the door.

Sam sipped his beer. "I wonder what that was about."

His brother smirked. "Maybe Cas is finally going to ask a girl out. Although I think I've warned him enough about jailbait for him to stay away from them."

Heather glared at Dean. "A.J. isn't _ever_ going to date anyone unless they ask for my approval first."

Despite his anxiety, Finn smirked a little.

"You're very protective of her, huh?"

"Yeah, Dean. She's like the sister I always wanted." She elbowed Finn. "You and I are going to keep guys away from A.J like two very over-protective siblings, right?"

Finn nodded and glanced at the door again. He knew what Heather _really_ meant by that. The moment Finn sensed something was wrong, they wouldn't waste a second before going out to get A.J. back.

Castiel led A.J. away from the door and almost reached the parking lot before he turned around and asked her, "Are you indeed a witch?" He figured a direct approach was the best way to go.

A.J. looked at the ground and then met his eyes again, her hands going into her pockets and wrapping around her pocket knife. It probably wouldn't help her much against an angel, but it still helped her feel braver.

"Yeah," she muttered.

"Then you understand the danger of what you're doing. What were your intentions when you started using witchcraft?"

"I needed a way to protect myself from my dad. Plus, I found out that I can help people. I get that it's dangerous, but it's really helped us so far."

He squinted at A.J. "Why did you need protection from your father?"

"None of your business."

He continued to stare at her a moment and then nodded understandingly. "I just want to confirm that you are not a threat to the Winchesters nor to any other innocent being."

"I'm not."

"Does Heather know? Before, she mentioned that you were being framed by a witch."

"That's true. I _was _and she _did_ almost kill me, but she eventually found out the truth. She knows I'm good. Look, are you going to tell the other guys what I am?"

Castiel hesitated. "This seems to be a personal matter for you. If you wish to tell them, it's your choice."

A.J. scoffed, "I'm not telling them! I have a desire to stay alive."

"I don't believe they would harm you if your intentions are as good as you claim they are."

"Uh-huh. _Sure_ they won't. They're_ hunters_. Hunters kill monsters. I am a monster. See where I'm going with this?"

"You believe you are a monster?"

A.J looked away and remained silent.

Castiel sighed. "I understand your trepidation, but Sam and Dean hunt _evil_ and I've come to believe that not all monsters are evil. The Winchesters _do_ make exceptions."

"I would still rather not test it."

A part of him wanted to tell the brothers. He had learned by now that keeping secrets from them always tended to lead to bad things happening, but A.J. seemed to know what she was doing. And he understood that there were certain things people didn't like to share with others. There seemed to be no harm in respecting A.J.'s wishes and keeping silent on the matter.

"Would you like to return to your familiar?" he asked. "He seemed very concerned."

She raised an eyebrow. "You know about my familiar too?"

"I wasn't certain before, but now I am."

A.J. nodded. She felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She wasn't _completely_ relaxed yet, but knowing that the angel was going to keep her secret was a relief.

The two walked towards the bar door again. "I noticed how uncomfortable you were around us. Why did you join Heather if you were so frightened?"

"You mean on the job or at the bar?"

"Both."

"The job needed to get done and there was no way I was leaving my only friend alone with people who scare me on either occasion."

Castiel stopped at the door, his hand resting on the handle. "I assure you we are not the ones you should be afraid of."

"Things that could kill me tend to scare me."

_There seems to be nothing I can do to make her feel more at ease_, Castiel thought to himself. He stepped aside and opened the door for her.

Finn was relieved to see A.J. and Castiel walking indoors again.

By now, Dean had his own order of bloomin' onions and Heather was eating from his serving plate while starting on her second strawberry daiquiri.

The witch and the angel took their seats again.

Sam looked over at Cas and elbowed him, quietly asking, "What was that about?"

"I'll explain later," he replied. He needed to stall to come up with some sort of lie.

A.J. gave Heather a reassuring smile and then looked at Finn. _Castiel knows, but he won't tell anyone._

Finn became visibly relaxed by her thoughts.

Under the table, she pulled out her phone and typed the same message to Heather, sending it. Sometimes, she wished she could telepath with anyone she wanted. It had its perks.

Heather pulled out her phone from her pocket when she felt it vibrate. She read the message and also relaxed. After putting away her phone again, she smiled at A.J., took another bloomin' onion, dipped it in the sauce, and ate it.

Dean scarfed down more of the onions and his brother glanced over at him with a smirk on his face.

"What?" Dean snapped, his mouth still full of food.

A.J. spoke up. "You look like a starving monkey."

Sam stared at A.J and then looked down. She had no idea they actually had starved a few times when they were younger. Dean did his best to always ration the groceries their dad left them with, but that didn't always happen.

Heather glanced at the band and saw them finishing their song. Karaoke time was starting. She took a sip from her daiquiri and then took a napkin from the center of the table, tossing it at Dean. "You got some crumbs on your lips. Some sauce on the corner of them too."

Sam chuckled.

Dean took the napkin, frowning. "Shut up, Sam," he said before taking the napkin and cleaning his lips off.

Heather smiled and helped herself to another onion. "I don't blame you though, Dean. These are great. The rest of you guys don't know what you're missing."

Dean glanced over to Sam and Cas. "Man, yeah, you have got to try these things. They're friggin awesome!"

A.J. stirred the ice in her glass of her water, which the waitress left behind when she dropped off Dean's order of bloomin' onions.

Sam rolled his eyes and picked up an onion, putting it to his mouth.

"With the sauce! You need to add sauce to it, Sam!" Heather exclaimed.

Sam turned his nose up at the sauce. "No thanks. I'm good."

"Come on, Cas, try one," Dean said.

"Dean, you know I don't need sustenance."

Dean nodded and said, "Yeah, okay."

"They are setting up the karaoke machine now. Anyone actually good at singing?" Heather asked.

Sam shook his head at Heather's question and took a sip of his beer. He never sang on stage and that wasn't about to change tonight.

His brother glanced at him, mentally begging Sam not to mention his occasional outbursts of singing on their road trips.

When everyone else continued silently glancing at each other, Dean cleared hist throat and muttered, "I can, I guess. If you need a partner or something."

Heather grinned and picked apart another one of the bloomin' onions. They were almost all gone now. "What song do you want to sing?"

"'Eye of the Tiger,'" he said with a confident nod. "Unless, you know. If someone else wants to go, I don't wanna go first."

Castiel glanced at A.J. She still seemed very uncomfortable, but at least he wasn't the only one who found the gathering awkward. He reminded himself that he didn't _have_ to be here, he could just leave, but he wasn't sure if Dean would mind or not.

Heather looked at her best friend and Finn, but they didn't look like they were going to go up on that stage any time soon.

Heather rolls her eyes at Finn. "Coward. Okay, Dean. Looks like it's just you and me, but if we're going to do this, we can't do it half-assed. We need to rock out like we're completely alone singing into hairbrushes and looking at ourselves in mirrors. Got it?" she said with grin, but it was a mask. Even though she knew she was a decent singer, she could feel herself growing more nervous.

Sam shook his head and chuckled. "Good luck, Dean."

Dean rolled his eyes and muttered, "Shut up."

Castiel smiled at the Winchester's banter.

Heather nudged Finn. He and A.J. rose to their feet, standing up to let her out of the booth.

Sam and Cas did the same for Dean, who scooted out less gracefully and fixed his collar before following Heather towards the stage.

Sam took another sip of his beer. "This should be interesting."

Castiel glanced at A.J. "Is Heather always this ... outgoing?"

"Sometimes," she curtly replied.

The DJ stood at the stage and started trying to get the crowd hyped. "Alright! Karaoke time! My name's Ross. I'll be your DJ and host tonight. Yes, I know Ross is a lame name for a DJ and should only be the name of that one guy from_ Friends_. Whatever. My name is Ross by the way. Now, which one of you have the guts to come up here? Come on! We won't laugh ... _too _hard. At the very least I can promise you no shoes will be thrown at you!"

Finn smirked. "I might throw a shoe."

A.J. shot him a look, but he didn't stop smiling mischievously.

Castiel glanced at Sam and then at A.J. and Finn. "By any chance, do any of you have a recording device?"

"What happened to your phone, Cas?" Sam asked.

"I . . . It was knocked into the kitchen sink."

The hunter shook his head and A.J. murmured, "My phone doesn't record very well, but we can try." She reached into her pocket and pulled it out her phone, handing it to Finn.

"I assume you want to record this?" the familiar asked the angel.

He nodded with a smirk and Sam almost felt proud. He seemed to finally be learning how to be a Winchester, by recording each other doing stupid things.

"Please send that to my phone when you're done," Sam asked Finn.

Finn smiled back. "You got it."

Heather went up to the stage and waved at Ross to get his attention.

Dean sighed. "Guess we're going first after all."

The DJ spotted them and recognized Heather right away. She came in several weeks ago and sang a couple of Christina Aguilera songs. He had regretted not talking to her more before she left.

Smiling welcomingly, he waved her over. "Alright, come on up. What are you two singing tonight?"

Dean gestured to Heather. "That's up to the boss."

Heather raised an eyebrow. "So I'm the boss now? Well, you said you wanted to sing 'Eye of the Tiger.' Let's go with that."

Dean grinned and nudged her. "Good luck keepin' up with me."

Ross handed Heather the microphone and took the second one by the karaoke machine, handing it to Dean. Then he went behind the DJ booth, getting the song set up for them.

Dean took the microphone in both hands and bowed his head, getting in the zone as he took his place on the karaoke stage.

Heather followed him, her hand already sweaty on the microphone. There was almost always a trace of nervousness before she sang, but she was prepared to push past it like always. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath until the anxiety went away.

The screen at the edge of the stage started counting down and then the music started.

Dean glanced at Heather and gave her an encouraging wink as he nodded his head to the intro.

She smiled back at him a little and then watched as her part of the verse lit up in pink letters. She opened her mouth and started singing, moving her body to the beat.

When her part was over, Dean then started singing like he would in the Impala. He closed his eyes as he strummed an imaginary guitar. Then he began air drumming as they began the chorus. He glanced at Heather and noticed that she was grinning broadly now.

He dipped his microphone dramatically as he sang, "_Rising up to the challenge of our rival!_"

Heather sang out, "_And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night. And he's watching us all with the __**eye**__ of the tiger!_" She was surprised to actually hear the crowd applauding when she released the long note and grinned broadly.

Dean laughed as he continued singing and playing his air-guitar, thoroughly impressed. He dropped to his knees as the final chorus came. He knew he was going way over the top, but why the hell not?

Heather began air-drumming as the song got closer to ending. She threw her head back as she sang the last note and then pulled the microphone away, breaking out into laughter.

Dean broke into laughter as Heather ended their song. He got back to his feet and clapped a hand on her shoulder. She was beaming, soaking up the applause like a plant soaked up sunlight.

In the back, their friends were cheering. Finn stopped recording and put A.J.'s phone away before she could notice it though.

Ross walked back onto the stage. "Wow! Give it up for these two! Not every day we get a decent show like that, right?" The audience cheered again.

Dean bowed before leaving the stage to hand his microphone back to Ross. Heather followed suit and asked, "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Dean laughed again, shaking his head. "That was awesome. You've got some pipes."

Heather shrugged a shoulder. "I guess. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a singer when I grew up. But what can I say? Singing doesn't have the perks of being able to kill monsters and save lives."

Back at the booth, Castiel looked at Sam. "I think that's the most fun I've seen Dean have in a while."

The younger Winchester shrugged. "I don't know. He seemed to be having fun when he was playing Call of Duty against you a few days ago."

The angel suddenly got a very serious look on his face. "That was not fun. That was murder. He _knew_ I was unprepared and he took advantage of that."

Dean had reached the booth by then and he patted Cas's shoulder. "It was a game, Cas. Get over it."

Castiel frowned.

"Just slide over. I'll sit on the end this time," Heather said to her friend.

A.J. shrugged and she and Finn scooted down while Sam stood up and let Dean in the booth.

He reached for his beer and clapped his hand down on his little brother's shoulder. "So who's next, Sammy?"

Sam hesitated and then said, "Uh, Cas, why don't you go sing 'Knocking on Heaven's Door?'"

Castiel grimaced. "That isn't even funny, Sam."

Heather giggled as she sat down and reached across Finn and A.J, taking her drink and finishing it off.

Dean laughed. "I don't think Cas wants to be knocking on heaven's door anytime soon."

Heather leaned closer across the table. "But you have a really deep voice, Castiel. I'm sure if you sang anything, it would probably be good."

Dean eyed the angel. "Yeah, Cas. Even _I've_ never heard you sing. C'mon."

By this point, Castiel was beginning to blush from the attention and he shook his head again, clearing his throat. "Dean, you haven't heard me sing because I just never do and I wouldn't feel uncomfortable attempting it in front of others."

Dean sighed. "Yeah, okay, Cas. Anyone else?"

Heather elbowed A.J. "Why don't you go up and sing with me?"

A.J. 's face turned red. "I don't sing in front of people either."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well neither did I. C'mon, go for it."

The witch lowered her eyes and shook her head.

"You know what? Everyone is going up! We're all going to get our asses on the stage and sing a song all at once." Heather pointed at Cas. "Especially you, mister."

Finn laughed and Dean joined him, nodding enthusiastically at Cas.

Castiel gulped. He had the same look as a deer in headlights.

A high-pitched note made Sam wince and he glanced at the stage. A blonde girl was attempting to perform Britney Spears's "Toxic." He looked back at the group and said, "Well, we can't be much worse than her."

Dean grinned. "That's the spirit, Sammy! C'mon, Cas. It won't be so bad. I can even hold your hand if that'll make you feel better," he ended in a sarcastic tone.

Castiel gave Dean a look. "I don't need you to hold my hand, Dean."

"Sarcasm, Cas."

"Nonetheless, I do not need your hand holding mine."

Heather didn't know if it was the alcohol or if she was getting genuinely excited. "So, what song should we sing?"

Sam shrugged a shoulder at Heather. He never really paid enough attention to songs to know which would be appropriate for a group this size to sing.

Meanwhile, Finn looked at the lines in the wooden table like they were the most interesting thing in the world, A.J. toyed with her straw, and Castiel was watching the people that had just entered the bar.

Heather rolled her eyes. "Jeez, do I need to come up with _all_ the awesome ideas tonight? Fine. How about 'Bohemian Rhapsody?'"

Dean glanced around at her. "I was just thinking the exact same thing."

"Really? Awesome! We're definitely doing that then!"

Dean pushed Sam out of the seat to get him going. "C'mon, gigantor. I need backup."

Sam sighed. "Do we really have to do this?"

Heather grinned. "Unless you want me to bitch all night about it, yes."

Dean nodded. "Yep. C'mon, it'll do you some good. You too, Cas." Dean didn't usually get to have fun and he wasn't going to pass this opportunity up.

Sam sighed again and rose to his feet while his older brother grinned and patted Sam's shoulder. "Atta boy, Sammy."

Heather linked her arm through A.J.'s and started trying to drag her out of the booth.

A.J. is very reluctant to follow Heather "Do I have to?"

"Yes! Finn too!"

"Nope," muttered the familiar.

"Yes, you are. Didn't you hear me when I said _everyone_, fleabag?"

"I'm not included in 'everyone.'"

Castiel inhaled and wondered if Dean would get too upset if he just disappeared back to the bunker.

Dean shook his head at Cas, sighing. This was one of the battles he knew he wouldn't win. "Cas, why don't you keep the kid company then? We need an audience." He gestured towards Finn.

Castiel glanced at Finn and nodded.

Heather frowned because she probably could have threatened Finn into standing up, but whatever.

The witch scowled at her familiar. _Lucky._

He grinned and gave her a little wave. _Have fun._

Heather elbowed Dean. "Why don't you sing Freddy Mercury's solos and we'll sing the rest? I think that would sound great."

Dean nodded because he had secretly hoped to do the solos anyway.

Heather kept her arm linked with A.J.'s in case she tried to run away and turned, making her way to the stage.

Sam rubbed his forehead, knowing he was going to regret this.

His brother grinned and said, "C'mon Sammy." He shoved him towards the stage as he followed the girls.

The DJ was leading the last singer off the stage. "Yeah, do me a favor and don't quit your day job, sweetheart," he said, patting her back. "Alright then! Who else wants to come up? Anyone else ready?"

"Nope," A.J. said, trying to pull away, but her friend gripped her arm tighter.

"Yep. Over here!"

Dean kept pushing Sam as he raised his hand. "Yeah, us!"

Sam frowned and glanced at A.J. It looked like they would have to endure this together.

Castiel glanced at Finn awkwardly. "You don't happen to still have A.J.'s cell phone, do you?"

"It's in her bag. Want me to record them?"

He smiled slightly and nodded.

The familiar reached into A.J.'s bag and pulled her phone out, waiting for them to start so he could record. "You aren't going to tell those yahoos about AJ, right?"

Castiel furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "I thought there was only _one _Yahoo. An online search engine that isn't very popular. A friend of mine named Charlie is upset with it because it has been making changes to one of her favorite websites."

Finn raised an eyebrow "Do you take _everything_ that literal?"

"Uh ... no..."

"Well, let me rephrase. You aren't going to tell the Winchesters about A.J., right?"

Castiel shook his head. "No, I won't."

"Good."

The DJ looked relieved to see Heather and Dean again. Hopefully the other two were also good. He reached back to the D.J. booth and got the extra microphones. As he handed them out, he asked, "So, what song are you gonna be singing?"

"None," A.J. murmured with a longing glance towards the safety of the table.

"She's joking. We're singing 'Bohemian Rhapsody,'" Heather explained.

Dean nodded enthusiastically as he cleared his throat, preparing for the song.

The DJ nodded and went back to the booth again, preparing the song.

Dean grinned as he glanced around at the other three and walked onto the stage. "You guys ready? Cause I so am."

"No, but I guess this isn't the worst thing you've talked me into doing," the younger Winchester muttered.

Heather nodded patted A.J.'s back. "You'll be fine. The lyrics are on the screen."

"How about you sing and I try not to run away screaming."

"No. Stay." She leaned in close to mutter, "Have some fun for once. This will be great."

Dean winked at Heather. "This is going to be awesome."

Heather smiled and looked way as the music started. When he winked, it made him looked even more attractive, and Heather didn't want to think about that right now. Not when she was having so much fun.

She took a deep breath and started singing as the song began.

Sam cleared his throat and started singing a little delayed after Heather.

Dean nodded along to the song as he waited for his entrance. It was official. He was going all out for this one. "Bohemian Rhapsody" was one of his guilty pleasure songs and he was just going to let it all out. His part finally came and although he was slightly off-key, he sang loud and proud.

"Anyway the wind blows, doesn't really matter to me," Heather and A.J. sang. The witch's voice was barely audible.

Dean stretched up over Sam's shoulders with difficulty while he sang.

"We will not let you go!" Heather jumped around as she sang, her excitement growing. She couldn't wait for the next part where she knew everyone would bang their heads because _nobody_ ever sat completely still for_ that_ part of Bohemian Rhapsody.

Dean rocked on his heels. "Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for _me_!" he belted out with the others.

Sam and Dean bobbed their heads back and forth as the song picked up and Heather joined them, her hair flying back and forth. A.J slipped towards the back of the stage and smiled slightly, watching the others.

Castiel shifted around in his seat and glanced at Finn. "Uh . . . have you been A.J.'s familiar long?"

"Why?"

"I was just curious and, um, I believe this is what you would refer to as an awkward silence. I was attempting to break it by starting conversation."

Finn chuckled. "Only _some_ people find silence awkward, but, to answer your question, I haven't been her familiar for very long."

Castiel nodded slowly and then glanced at the camera. "Did that record our conversation?"

"Probably, but I never said I'd send _this_ to you guys."

"It would probably be best that you didn't."

The boys turned their attention back to the stage.

Heather was singing, "So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye?"

Dean followed her, "So you think you can love me and leave me to _die_?"

Sam started singing as loudly as Dean and Heather, "Oh, baby! Can't do this to me, baby!"

His brother grinned and leaned into him. "Just gotta get out, just gotta get right out of here!"

The music carried on and A.J. giggled in the back as Dean strummed the air during the instrumental break. The others sang, "Ooh, ooh. Ooh, yeah. Ooh yeah!"

Dean gripped his microphone with both hands. "Any way the wind blows..." He ended with a bow.

The DJ clapped his hands along with the rest of the audience as he walked towards the group and took their microphones. "Well done!"

Heather beamed. "Thanks, Ross."

Sam put his hand over his face, still not believing he just did that and his brother patted his back. "Way to go, Sammy."

Sam rolled his eyes, but there was a rueful smile on his face as he made his way off the stage.

Heather wrapped an arm around A.J.'s shoulders. "See? You lived through it."

"Barely. Another second or two and I would have been out the door."

Her friend led her towards the steps and leaned into her ear to say, "Hey, it's alright. You can have fun. How can they possibly find out anything about you right now, A.J.? We're just having a good time."

"Anything can happen."

"I won't let it. It'll be okay. I promise," she vowed, dropping her arm from A.J.'s shoulders.

By the time the group returned, Finn had stopped recording and put A.J.'s phone away again.

Sam scooted into the booth and chuckled, "I'm never doing that again."

Heather let A.J. in so she can sit next to her familiar.

Dean rolled his eyes as he sat next to his brother. "Sam, you loved that and you know it."

"Okay, I'll admit that it was fun, but I still wouldn't want to do that again."

"Whatever. Wimp."

Heather looked around. "Dude, where's our waitress? I haven't seen her in forever and I think we need more drinks. Dean, want to go get some shots from the bar with me?"

Dean set his empty beer bottle on the table after finishing it off. "Hell yeah, I do."

She got up from the booth again and started walking towards the bar with Dean trotting alone beside her.

Sam watched Dean and Heather walking away. "It's like those two are _determined_ to make us all have a good time or something."

Castiel nodded. "It does appear so."

Waving the bartender over, Heather sat down at a stool. He put up his index finger while he poured a drink for someone else.

Dean took the stool next to Heather, resting his elbows on the bar. He had wondered about the first time they met all day and figured now was good a time as any to ask. "Heather, I've been meaning to ask. Why the fake out when we met? You said you'd never heard of me . . ."

Heather rested her arm on the table. "Mostly, I just thought it would be funny. And it was."

Dean nodded, frowning slightly. "Yeah. Okay."

She took notice of his expression tilted her head to the side. "What?"

Dean shook his head as the bartender came over. "Two purple nurples."

The bartended nodded and began fixing the drinks.

"Purple nurples? What the hell are those?" Heather asked.

Dean shrugged, grinning. "No idea. Had 'em in a college bar when I was on a hunt with Sam one time. They're awesome." He took them from the bartender and slid one over to her.

Heather also shrugged and took the glass after the bartender handed them over. "Well, I guess I do like trying new things now and then." She looked at Dean again and then took the shot, scrunching up her nose as she gulped.

Dean took his shot at the same time, slamming the glass down as he shook his head while he swallowed. "Mm. Yep. As good as I remembered."

"They're . . . different. But yeah. I like them too."

He nodded, nudging her with his shoulder. "You pick the next round."

"No, you pick. I don't usually drink, so my knowledge of drinks is still pretty limited."

Dean raised his hand to the bartender. "Two shots of tequila, buddy." He looked back at Heather and grabbed the nearby saltshaker. "Ever done a shot of tequila?"

"Ironically enough, no."

He stared at her, shocked. "Okay, okay." He nodded a thank you to the bartender as he paid for their shots and a couple of lime wedges. "You lick the back of your hand to get it wet and then sprinkle the salt on." He showed her by licking the part of his hand between his thumb and index finger. He handed her the salt shaker when he was finished. "Okay. You lick the salt, down the shot, slam the glass, then suck the lime. Got it?"

Heather watched him and nodded. "Yeah, I think I got it." She licked her hand and sprinkled the salt. Then she glanced at Dean. "Wanna do it at the same time?"

Dean nodded, holding up three fingers on his unsalted hand. "Three, two, one," he counted down.

The two downed the shots. Dean laughed at Heather's face as she sucked on the lime. Then he sucked on his own lime and dropped it into his empty shot glass.

"Wow!" Heather exclaimed.

"There. Now you are officially a big kid. Never done a tequila shot . . ." He shook his head disbelievingly.

She put a hand up defensively. "Hey! I_ did_ tell you that I don't usually drink. I prefer to keep a clear head. I mean, I think the last time I got drunk was at least a year ago," she said with a grimace.

"I haven't actually gotten drunk in a while either. Either that or I'm _always_ drunk."

Heather smiled. "Well, I would say we could get drunk tonight, but I'm not too sure everyone else would be too happy with us."

The hunter laughed, realizing he had pretty much forgotten about the rest of their group. "Oh yeah . . ."

Heather glanced over at the table. Sam and A.J. seemed to be talking about something while Finn and Castiel leaned in with interested expressions. She was glad they at least weren't sitting around in silence.

Returning her attention to Dean, she said, "By the way, thanks."

"Huh? For what?"

"For helping out with the hunt, dummy. And for coming out tonight too. You could have just gone home after that, but you didn't."

"I try to get Sammy to go out and have a little fun whenever I can. Guy's too serious all the time. As for the hunt, don't mention it. I gave you my number, didn't I?" Dean gestured the bartender over again. He wanted another beer.

"A.J. and Finn can be like that too. Especially A.J. She's just . . . not fond of strangers. That's why it's just the three of us, I guess."

"Yeah, she seems kinda up tight. Or is that just 'cause we're here?" He accepted the beer from the bartender and took a sip.

Heather hesitated and murmured, "Um, her up-tight-ed-ness _did_ kind of increase around you guys. Don't take it personally though. She's almost as bad as I am about not trusting people."

Dean shrugged again. "What's she think we're gonna do? We don't bite. We only kick ass when it comes to monsters."

"Well . . . not all monsters really _are_ monsters, right? I mean, not all of them have done things to deserve getting killed."

He nodded, thinking of Benny. "Yeah, I guess so, but when it comes to the bastards, they usually deserve to be ganked."

She looked away and nodded. If Dean ever found out about A.J. and if she could explain everything, maybe he wouldn't hurt her after all. Still, she knew it wasn't worth the risk. She _knew_ she should probably stop drinking now and do her best never see Dean again after tonight. Otherwise, the truth might come out. She had to do whatever it took to protect her friend, didn't she?

Heather stared at her glass, completely lost in thought for a moment and Dean looked over. "Hey. You alright?"

She looked up and forced a grin. "Yeah. Sorry. Just thinking about my plans tomorrow," she lied.

Dean didn't quite believe her, but he decided not to ask. They barely knew each other, so he didn't need to be getting into her business. "Yeah. We, uh, might head out soon. Long day of driving tomorrow."

She tried her best not to look disappointed and thought she probably succeeded. "Right. Of course. Well, there's a hotel on Main Street if you haven't already checked in somewhere. They have good coffee in the mornings."

Dean nodded, offering her a smile. He didn't want to go, but he was exhausted. "We should grab some lunch or something tomorrow before me and the Scooby Gang head out tomorrow."

"I . . . Yeah, maybe," she muttered, having too many thoughts at once.

Should she have just said no? That she was busy? She wouldn't make A.J. go, not after how frightened she had been the entire day. But what if A.J. insisted on tagging along with the ridiculous notion that _Heather_ of all people would somehow be in danger?

The stupid alcohol was kicking in and she hated it. _This_ was why she _really_ didn't drink often. She was a lightweight and she knew it. Yeah, a little of it lightened her mood, which she loved, but just one drop of alcohol too much and she started overthinking. At least she hadn't had enough for any other stupid things to happen and she knew she could still walk around without stumbling.

Heather bit her lip and added, "I'll see if I can make it tomorrow." There it was. Not a yes or no. Just a perfect maybe with no promises tied.

Dean smiled as he stood up and nodded. "It's a date," he said with a smirk. Then he kissed Heather's cheek quickly before heading back to Sam and Cas. He couldn't help himself. Dean Winchester was a natural born flirt, and the alcohol only intensified that part of him.

Heather sat there with her mouth hanging slightly. She was surprised at first, then angry that he snuck the kiss when she was least expecting it, and then . . . Well, she didn't really know. All she knew was that she wished Dean hadn't done that. She scowled and got to her feet. A.J. would have to drive her home tonight to be on the safe side, but she managed to walk after Dean in a straight line. She kept her expression neutral, hoping A.J. hadn't seen that. What would she say if she had?

Sam looked up when he saw his brother and Heather returning to the booth.

Heather smiled. "Hey, what were you guys talking about?"

A.J puts her hands in her pockets since all the ice in her glass has melted. She hadn't realized until now how much she was leaning across the table to Sam.

"Secrets," Finn answered, which caused an eye-roll from Heather.

Castiel answered, "The best methods of killing a rugaru."

Sam chuckled. "Way to spoil the secret."

"It ... didn't seem like a secret to me."

"It wasn't really a secret Cas," A.J. answered.

Castiel looked more confused than ever.

"You must be_ real_ fun at parties," Finn said.

Dean smirked. "I'll say this much about him, he always wins drinking games."

Castiel gave him a wry grin and Heather cleared her throat, announcing, "Well, um, we better get going home now."

"Yeah, us too," Dean said.

Sam raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised that Dean wanted to leave already, but he shrugged and slowly got out of the booth.

The other four followed suit and

Finn handed A.J. her bag at the same time as Heather handed A.J. the car keys.

Sam said, "Well, it was nice to get to know you."

Finn nodded and A.J. looked away, ready to run to the door.

"Nice to meet you too, Sam," Heather said, already leading her two friends away.

The two groups made their way through the crowd and Sam murmured to Dean, "Did something happen?"

Dean shook his head. "No, it's just late and I have a lot of driving to do tomorrow."

After they were all in the parking lot, Dean looked over at Heather. "Uh, I guess I'll see you soon?"

Heather nodded and smiled a little. "Yeah, later," she said, turning and walking towards the truck.

When the witch, familiar, and hunter were in the truck, Heather glanced at the Impala, thinking to herself that Dean really shouldn't be driving, but he had already started the car and backed out of the parking lot. At least he _seemed_ to have control of the car.

A.J turned on the truck and relaxed once the impala was out of view.

Heather rubbed her eyes as her friend began to drive. "At least you guys seemed to be having decent conversation when I got back."

"Yeah. Now we know how to take care of a rugaru if we ever come across 'em," Finn said.

She smiled back at him. "So you're on Team Trust the Winchesters and the Angel now?"

"Nope."

She scoffed. "Well, I talked to Dean. He said they don't kill monsters unless they actually do things to deserve it."

"Yeah. I've heard differently."

"From who?"

"Witches."

"Well, maybe they're wrong and maybe those witches deserved it."

"Maybe, but those two guys have quite the rep as monster killers."

"Yeah, that doesn't make them bad people, though. Anyway, let's just forget it. I'm done talking about it now." Heather rested her head against the window and crossed her arms over her stomach.

"We never said they were bad people," A.J. said.

Heather lifted her head and looked at her friend. "Yeah, but we're treating them like they are. A.J., I know you're scared, but it _would_ be nice to have other hunters as friends too. Look, I'll probably never see them again after tonight, so don't worry about it. I just . . . I don't know." She shrugged a shoulder and turned on the radio.

"We'll try to be nicer next time, but I can't change how scared they make me."

"Well . . . Dean invited us to lunch tomorrow, but . . . maybe it's for the best if there isn't a next time. I wouldn't make you try to change how scared you are of them."

"If you're going to lunch with them then we're coming with."

"Why? I'll be fine by myself. It'll probably be at a diner or somewhere public."

"I know, but they scare me so I'd rather we're there with you."

Heather shook her head again. "Fine. If you really want to."

"I promise we'll be nicer."

"You don't have to promise."

A.J smiled a little. "Too late."


	6. Chapter Six

The next morning, A.J. sat at the kitchen table and ate her cereal while Finn sat across from her with a map and a pencil. The witch glanced up when she heard footsteps. "Morning," she called out.

Heather rubbed her eyes and ran her fingers through her messy hair as she entered the kitchen in her tank top and shorts. "Ugh. Why'd the sun have to come up? It woke me up through the stupid gap in my curtains."

Finn smirked. "Maybe it rose just to piss you off, Heather"

"In that case, I'm sure _you_ had something to do with it."

The familiar grinned. "You know it."

Scowling at him, Heather made her way to the refrigerator, opening it even though she knew she probably won't find anything she wanted to eat. She finally settled on leftover pizza and put it on a plate to heat it up in the microwave.

Finn returned his attention to his map and started drawing out a route.

"Hey, what are you doing with that map?" Heather asked.

A.J. answered for him. "He's finding the shortest way back to Iowa. I have to go back on Halloween."

"Why?"

"I gotta visit my mom and sister."

"Oh . . . Do you want me to go with you . . . ?"

She shrugged. "If you want to. We might run into my dad though."

Finn glared at table as he folded up the map.

Heather shrugged in reply and ran her hand through her dark hair again as she took the pizza out of the microwave. She definitely wanted to go through. Not just to keep her friend company, but also because she hated being alone on any given holiday.

"I still don't think you should go," Finn suddenly said to the witch.

"I'm going so just deal with it. It's only for a little while anyway."

Heather poured herself a glass of orange juice and sat down at the small, circular table. "Why don't you want her to go, Finn?"

"Because she knows her dad will be there."

"Oh, well, yeah, there's that," Heather said with a mouth already full of pizza.

A.J. kept her eyes on her cereal bowl. "I can handle him."

Finn shook his head and stood up to go into the living room instead.

Heather gave her friend a look. "Are you sure you want to go back?"

"I have to at least go see Mom and Zoey."

"Okay then. I'll back you up. But can we still dress up for Halloween?"

"What do you want to dress up as?"

Heather grinned. "Catwoman! Hale Berry's outfit if I can get a hold of it."

Her friend smiled. "That should be fun."

"What about you? Oh, maybe we could make it a thing! We can dress you up as Poison Ivy. It would be perfect because of your gorgeous red hair. And Finn as the Penguin because everyone knows that's one of the lamer villains."

"I heard that!" Finn called from the living room.

"Good! Go online and find a costume then!"

"No way!"

"Finn!_ I have spoken!_"

"Don't care! I'm not gonna be Penguin!"

"Well, what would _you_ suggest?! And get back in here so I can stop yelling!"

"Fine!"

By then, A.J. was laughing a lot more than she had in the last twenty-four hours.

Heather rolled her eyes and stuffed more pizza in her mouth, but she was smiling too.

"I will not be Penguin," Finn said with a serious expression as he entered the kitchen.

A.J. cleared her throat to stop laughing and went to the sink to wash her now empty bowl.

Heather grinned playfully at the familiar. "Then what else could you possibly be?"

"Batman."

"You're too lame to be batman. And anyway, we're going as the villains, not the heroes. How about the Riddler? Or even the Joker?"

A.J. crossed her arms and leaned back against a countertop. "I think I can count as a villain if I dress as myself then. Or just as a witch in general."

Heather rolled her eyes. "No, sweetie, you're going as Poison Ivy, remember?"

Finn murmured, "I'll be . . . I can be Joker. That would be acceptable."

Heather shook her head at Finn. "Okay. Just be prepared for when I need to put makeup on you."

The boy's nose scrunched up and she giggled.

"Can I make some poison ivy hex bags?" A.J. asked.

Heather sipped her juice and then answered, "Sure, why not? As long as you get to wear the green outfit I get you too."

"What kind of green outfit?

"Don't worry. Whatever I get, it will be modest enough."

"Okay."

"Wait, why are we dressing up again?" Finn interrupted.

"Halloween. Duh."

"Are we going somewhere that we need to dress up on Halloween?"

"Probably not. But it would be fun anyway. Maybe we'll crash a Halloween party or two. And believe me, I am going to take full advantage of acting like Catwoman the entire night."

"Okay then."

Heather finished her pizza and left her dishes in the sink. "You know, I think we should just skip lunch with the Winchesters and Castiel."

A.J glanced at her friend. "What made you change your mind?"

"Nothing. I just . . . I need to get the truck taken in to get some work done and I have laundry to do too. And grocery shopping too. We ran out of eggs."

"Oh. Well, if you're sure . . . ," the witch murmured.

Heather nodded and took her phone out to send Dean a text.

The truth was that she didn't want to see Dean again. She knew she liked him and she didn't like that she did. Relationships always tended to end badly for her and she wasn't willing to let that happen again.


End file.
